Chapter 34. Making Games Like This?
In a small mercy amid misfortune, the mushrooms Kiana ate were only mildly hallucinogenic and not strongly toxic.
So after Kiana—on an IV drip—woke up, they left Sirin to stay as caregiver, and the rest finally felt at ease enough to head home.
A perfectly good celebration was muddled by Kiana's antics.
As for whether they were happy, it was fine, but it carried a touch of exasperated amusement.
Silently sighing that Kiana truly was a remarkable girl, the three—Xander, Bronya, and Seele—opened the door and returned home in the glow of the setting sun.
"Bronya-sis, Brother, are you hungry?"
After changing into loungewear, Seele poked her little head out of the kitchen and asked her brother and sister.
"N-Not really."
Xander answered, and Bronya followed with a shake of her head.
Their stomachs were still full of barbecue and hadn't finished digesting, so naturally they had no appetite.
"I see."
Seele tapped her lips, thought for a moment, and said, "Then I'll just make some porridge tonight."
Seeing that her brother and sister had no objections, Seele slipped back into the kitchen, took ingredients from the fridge, and began washing them.
"Back to the studio?"
"Mm-hmm~"
Their eyes met.
Without speaking, they instantly understood each other.
Since Bronya had moved back, their two studios had naturally merged into one.
Compared to Xander's simplicity, Bronya's things seemed a bit messy: various documents and sketches piled up in a jumble.
It took a long time to tidy before it looked presentable.
"For the next game, any ideas?"
Closing the studio door, Xander returned to his workstation.
While the computer was booting, he asked the Bronya beside him.
Their desks were side by side, within easy reach of each other.
"Our game has only been on sale for three days.
Do we need to be this urgent?"
Bronya was a little surprised.
She hadn't expected Xander's work drive to be this strong; she hadn't noticed it before.
"It's not about starting right now.
It's just choosing a broad direction first.
Leaving other things aside, we should at least settle on a theme, so when it's time to actually start, we won't be fumbling in the dark."
"True..."
Bronya nodded, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes to think.
"Hatsune, help me create a new folder."
Hearing Xander's command, the chibi Hatsune on the screen—boredly twirling a leek—snapped to attention with a salute, then heave-ho pulled an empty folder out of her pocket.
With one hand she tossed it up, then with both hands swung the leek and slapped the folder onto the desktop.
"How about making a Metroidvania?"
"Metroidvania" is a term for games that add a freely explorable 2D interconnected map—and RPG elements like equipment and leveling—on top of side-scrolling action gameplay.
In this world, the genre's progenitors are still Metroid and Castlevania, so "Metroidvania" is used as the umbrella term.
Looking at Xander, Bronya continued, "My Alahato α was originally going to adopt this gameplay model, but for one person the workload was impossible, so I cut the sandbox map and leveling features.
Now that there are two of us, I think it should be fine."
She had some experience in this area, so it would go more smoothly.
"Metroidvania, huh?
That could work."
After thinking for a moment, several classics flashed through his mind.
He turned to meet Bronya's gaze and asked, "Still want to do a mecha theme?"
He had thought Bronya would be tempted, but to his surprise she shook her head.
"No.
We still have a long way to go before we can make the mecha game I have in mind.
Thinking about that now is too early."
That actually surprised Xander, but her serious expression didn't look like a lie.
"I see.
Then let this be one candidate.
Let's think of a few more and pick a suitable one together."
Bronya nodded, thought a bit, and spoke again.
"Mm… how about a sequel to To the Moon?"
"A sequel?"
At that, Xander frowned slightly.
"Riding To the Moon's heat and releasing a sequel is indeed feasible.
But I still want to try a new type.
This kind of 'reheating leftovers' can wait until we're more capable."
As for a sequel to To the Moon, Impostor Factory might be somewhat underwhelming by comparison, but Finding Paradise is a work whose story can stand shoulder to shoulder with To the Moon.
When they had enough technical accumulation in the future, they could make that game.
For now, they could only apologize to the players waiting for a To the Moon sequel.
Watching Xander think while stating his view, Bronya suddenly fell silent.
Propping her chin with one hand, she turned her head to look at him, eyes crescenting as an irrepressible smile tugged at her lips.
Seeing the silence stretch, Xander looked over in puzzlement.
"Why did you stop talking all of a sudden?"
"It's nothing.
I just feel a little regret."
"Regret?"
But Bronya didn't explain his confusion.
She only let out a soft laugh, leaving Xander at a loss.
She just somewhat regretted why they had ever split up.
The feeling of one person versus two people working together was truly worlds apart.
In a cold, quiet room, with only one person facing the computer, staring down looming deadlines and still-heavy workloads, Bronya had no choice but anxiety and self-pressure.
But now?
Not only did she have someone with the same dream to exchange and clash ideas with, but when she was tired from work, she only had to turn her head to see the person she liked sitting beside her.
With just a little bit of acting spoiled, she could receive the concern of the one she liked.
It felt really good, making the tedious process itself seem like a kind of enjoyment.
"I don't get it."
Muttering softly, Xander listed out a sheet and wrote down the game types they had just discussed.
"Let's consider this much for now.
Honestly, I want to make some large-scale games, but… we're short on hands."
He shook his head and began typing into a document in the new folder.
For a while, the clatter of keys filled the room.
"What are you writing?"
Hadn't they already put together several proposals?
Curious, Bronya leaned in.
Watching the lines of text appear rapidly on the screen, her brows gradually knit, and even the way she looked at Xander turned a bit off.
To see more clearly, Bronya simply stood up and moved behind Xander.
She bent down, leaned over his back, set her chin on his shoulder, and stared intently at the screen.
The soft press and the sweet fragrance at his nose made Xander's heart like a restless monkey and a skittish horse, even slowing his typing by half a beat.
If it were a normal moment, Bronya would probably tease him.
But now, she had entirely lost the mood, and her voice turned a bit dry.
"Do you always make games like this?"
Hearing that, Xander stopped typing and asked in confusion, "Hm?
Is something wrong?"
"That's a huge problem!
Who writes the design document right after merely deciding on the game's theme?!"
And it even looked so neat and orderly, clearly not something slapped together.
"Is it that hard?"
That offhand remark made Bronya furious.
Recalling the mental torment of planning game content, she glared at Xander and said irritably, "What else?
Do you think this is easy?!"
For Xander, who had the full game flow in his head, this wasn't difficult.
But of course he couldn't say that.
So he looked at Bronya and probed a little.
"Mm… if I said I dreamed all of this, would you believe me?"
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts